Apparatus for utilizing water-power.



No. 806,104". PATENTBD DEC. 5-, 1905.

W. R.- BURKHARD. APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING WATER rowna. APPLIGATfON FILEDJAN. 2'T, 1904- at mu;

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

WALTER R. BURKH'ARD, OF BLISS, IDAHO. APPARATUS FOR UTILIZINGWATER-POWER.

Specification of Letters Patent,

PatentedDec. 5, 1905.

Application filed January 27, 1904:. serial No- 190,895.'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER R. BURKHARD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Bliss, in the county ofLincoln and State of Idaho,

have invented-new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for UtilizingWater-Power, of

which the following is a specification. My invention relates to thatclass of appa ratus for raising water in which the water is raised bymeans of the introduction of compressed air into a column of water, andit also relates to apparatus whereby water-power is employed forcreating a supply of compressed air by introducing air within adescending column of water and collecting the same in acompression-chamber.

The primary object of the invention is to produce a system which willembody and com: bine the above principles of operation and provide anautomatic water-lift suitable for installation at any source ofwater-power and which shall be self-governing and of a simpleconstruction in which working parts are not required.

The invention consists in providing, in connection with a source ofwater-supply, a conduit connecting said source of supply and extendingdownward therefrom to form a loop one branch of which will extend tothepoint of required lift and in providing for the introduction ofcompressed air into the column of water to be lifted at a point in saidloop as to cause expansion of said column alone..

The invention further consists 1n providlng a cylindricalcompression-chamber arranged in open relation with a basin of waterbelow the source of supply and causing the descending column of Waterwhich supplies the compression-chamber with air to discharge within saidchamber at a tangent, whereby to produce a swirling action of the waterfor the purpose of readily separating the air and cause it to collect inthe air-compression space.

Further, the invention consists in certain features of arrangement andconstruction of parts, all as hereinafter described, andspecifically setforth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view showing theapparatus as applied; Fig. 2, an end view; Fig. 3, a top view; Fig.

4, a section view of the discharge end of the aircompression pipe,showing a suitable check-. valve for same; and Fig. 5, a top viewshowiindicated by the tank 5.

necting the source of water-supply 1 with ing a modified form of thecompression-chamberm whlch the discharge of the water there- .from isupon a tangent.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a tank or reservoir placed at thetop of the effective head to receivea constant supply of water which isutilized to furnish the water to be elevated as well as the water usedfor generating the compressed air for aerating the column of water to beelevated. Below this source of supply is maintained a basin of water 2,which represents a natural or artificial accumulation of water of suchdepth as to prov1de for the requisite degree of compression of the airwithin the compression-chamber 3, which is open at the bottom to receivethe pressure of the Water and to form an outlet for the water dischargedtherein from the source of supply. This chamber is preferablycylindrical in formand provided with a conical top,

from the apex of which extends a pipe 4, by

which the compressed air is conducted to the place of use. In thepresentinstance the compressed air is utilized for aerating a column ofWater supplied from the source of supply 1, so as to cause it by theexpansion of its volume to reach the required elevation, which is Theconduit 6, conreservoir 5, is looped downward below the source ofsupply'to provide a length of watercolumn 1n the lift portion of 6suflicient when expanded by the compressed air to reach the requiredelevation and produce the desired veloclty, but more especially toprovide a column of water in the portion 6 to balance that in theportion 6 and which will serve to cause the expansion of the latterwhenaerated, the weight of the column in the portion 6 overbalancing that tobe aerated and causing the same to rise to' the reservoir 5.

In order to obtain the aeration in the desired column, the compressedair is discharged therein above the point of equilibrium, as

' shown, and, if desired, the air-pipe may be exployed to close theair-pipe, and in Fig. 4 a simple form of valve is shown, in which a disk7 closes the pipe by the weight of the water on said disk. This disk isretained and guided in its movement by the stem 7 and opens readily tothe air-pressure.

Connecting the source of supply with the air-compression chamber 3 is aconduit 8, which carries down the waste water from the source of supplyand is utilized, as stated, to

conduct continuously to said chamber a supply of compressed air. The airis taken in at the opening 9, formed in said conduit at or near thepoint of greatest vacuum, and becoming entrapped in the falling columnof water is carried down, compressed by the weight of the column, andliberated within the compression-chamber to maintain the supply ofcompressed air therein.

In order to increase the facility with which the air is taken into thedescending column of water and also to prevent the egress of the waterthrough the opening 9, the conduit is provided with a tapering sectionor throat 8, arranged therein and extending down past the opening 9, asindicated in dotted lines, the action of which is such as to direct thewater past said opening and at the same time insure a suction which willcause the requisite quantity of air to be entrapped in the descendingcolumn.

The conduit 8 extends vertically for the entire length of the descentand at its base has a horizontal continuation 8 which connects with thecompression-chamber at a point sufficiently below the normal water-leveltherein to keep the discharge-opening submerged, yet providing for theaddition of the incoming water to the body of water within thecompression-chamber at the water-level, so that the displacement of thewater therein will always be from the bottom and in the order in whichit enters said chamber, thus giving time for the'separation of thecompressed air from the water and prevent the air from. being carriedout of said chamber. The horizontal arrangement of the dischargeendportion of the conduit and the point at which the discharge is made arerelied upon for the above-stated purposes, but mainly in connection withthe further arrangement of the horizontal continuation of the conduitupon a tangent to the cylindrical walls of the compression-chamber inorder that the incoming water will be directed around the walls thereofand a swirling action of the entire body of water brought about, whichwill insure the retention of the water and cause it to pass out of thechamber only after displacing the body of water therein and in the orderin which the water has entered, this being accomplished by the current,which will cause the water to form a vortex, as shown, which alsoinsures the retention of the incoming water nearer the surface by thecentrifugal action of the current, which causes the incoming water tomake a number of circuits before reaching the center of the vortex.

To further carry out the swirling action of the water within thechamber, said chamber may be formed closed at its bottom and providedwith a discharge-pipe 10, leaving the same on a tangent, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 5, in which a more nearly vertical arrangement ofthe parts of the apparatus is also shown.

It will be observed that as the water rises in the compression-chamberthe air-pressure becomes less and the flow into the reservoir 5 is inconsequence slower, and as the air accumulates, forcing the water downto a lower level in the compression-chamber, the compression increasesand the air escapes with more rapidity and increases the volume of theflow, thus making the regulation entirely automatic.

The apparatus is also self-governing with respect to the cutting off ofthe flow when the reservoir 5 becomes filled, as the water in the tankwhen a certain level is reached will add its weight to thelifting-column, so that the compressed air will have no power to make afurther lift of the water owing to the limit of possible lift beingreached. Ordinarily, however, the water will be conducted from the pointof desired lift in a continuous flow and utilized for irrigation andother purposes, and then the provision for automatically stopping thepumping operation will not be used.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

. 1. In combination, a source of water-supply having an efiectiv'e head,a basin below the source of supply, an air-compression chamber in openrelation with the water in said basin, a conduit connecting the sourceof supply with the compression-ehamber and having opening or openingsfor the admission of air, a conduit connected to the said source ofsupply, looped down below the same and extending to the point ofrequired lift above said supply, and a conduit connecting the liftportion of said looped conduit with said air-compression chamber,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination, a source of water-supply having an effective head, abasin below the source of supply, an air-compression chamber in openrelation with the water in said basin, a conduit connecting the sourceof supply with the compression-chamber and having opening or openingsfor the admission of air, a conduit connected to said source of supply,looped below the same and extending to the point of required lift abovesaid supply, and

a reservoir connecting with the discharge end In testimony whereofI havesigned my name of said conduit and having its Waterlevel to thisspecification in the presence of two subabove said discharge end of theconduit, and scribing witnesses.

means for introducing into the lifting portion WALTER R. BURKHARD. 5 ofsaid conduit compressed air from said com- Witnesses: w 7

pression-cliamber, substantially as and for the I B. G. MULLINS,

' purpose set forth.

' ORA L. MULLINs.

